Professionalizing City Managment-plank-bob
Professionalizing City Management, according to Bob O'Connor's site from November, 2005 An Agenda to Create Financial Security Pittsburgh faces no greater challenge than solving our fiscal crisis. Years of City mismanagement have created this fiscal crisis. Good management can fix it. That’s why I’m campaigning to become your next Mayor. During this campaign I have talked a great deal about my agenda for change. We must professionalize City government. We must share services where possible with Allegheny County. And we must build strong relationships with Harrisburg to finally fix several systemic problems that only a change of law in Harrisburg can bring about. I have offered a very detailed agenda to bring about financial security for the City. It is an aggressive agenda, comprised of over two-dozen plans to create efficiency and lower the cost of City government. Not all of these items will be achievable overnight; however, they must all be placed upon the table and receive my full attention. Many of my agenda items involve actions I can take unilaterally as Mayor. I will put my 20 years of business experience, leading a workforce of over 1,000 employees to good use. I know that any good organization begins and ends with quality people. My Administration will be comprised of professionals, not political hires. It’s time to professionalize City government. Other agenda items demand a close working relationship with Executive Onorato as they involve joint Allegheny County and City of Pittsburgh activities. That’s one reason why I’m so pleased that Executive Onorato has endorsed my candidacy. These shared services won’t cost the County more money, yet they will save the City millions of dollars. Still other agenda items will require the assistance of the Legislature and the Governor. That’s why I’m so pleased to have the support of so many of the region and state’s Senators and Representatives. Further, my tenure on Governor Rendell’s staff – wherein I not only worked very closely with him – but also with the Legislature, will be of great benefit to Pittsburgh. Agenda points: * A 20% reduction in the cost of the Mayor’s Office. I believe that all leaders should lead by example. As Mayor, I will have to ask many to do more with less. The Mayor’s office has room to run better and more efficiently. This can save taxpayers over $250,000 per year. * A 12% cut in the City Finance Department. This can save taxpayers over $600,000 per year. * Across the board City/County/City Schools shared procurement program. We’ll buy everything from paper and pencils to road salt. By pulling together and sharing our buying power we can lower the cost of all we consumer. Similar cities have saved as much as 7% which would amount to over $5 million a year in savings to the City. * Create a joint City/County Police Training Center. By training our police officers together, we can save the taxpayers nearly $700,000 per year. * Merge City/County records storage. By simply storing our documents together in a single location we can save the taxpayers over $20,000 per year. Each and every tax dollar matters. * Remove the cap on state pension funding levels. The state has contributed less and less to the pension funds of the many City of Pittsburgh retirees. It has reached a crisis proportion. I will go to Harrisburg and lobby heavily to remove the current cap and restore funding to its previous levels. * Merge public works functions utilizing cooperative agreements with Allegheny County. Both the City and the County have extensive public works operations. We can do more for less money by working together. In some cases the City can serve a geographic area or activity more efficiently than the County. In other cases the County can. We must work to find these synergies and get everyone working together for the taxpayer. * Form a City/County/City Schools health insurance pool or pool statewide collective. Health insurance costs continue to skyrocket. They are budget busters. We must join together to create a bigger risk pool and thereby increase our buying power and lower our costs. Whether we join with the County and City Schools are join efforts currently underway statewide, by coming together we can lower the escalation of costs and work to begin health care costs more under control. * Merged City/County Information Technologies. We must work over time to merge the numerous hardware and software platforms. This will permit us to do more with less, communicate better and share our human resources. * Shared City/County public works equipment. Equipment is expensive, and too often some of it sits idle. By working along with the County, we can both have access to what we need without both needing to assume 100% of the cost. * Establish a Utility Cooperative with the City, County and City Schools. As homeowners know, the cost of energy is skyrocketing. By joining together with our partners, we can purchase energy for less. * Collect taxes, fees, and parking tickets over the Internet. Technology lowers the cost of a service and increases customer service at the same time. Technology must be brought to City government. * Eliminate Deputy Mayors and appoint a professional City Manger. This City has been mismanaged for too long. That begins and ends with the leadership in City government. I will end the practice of the Deputy Mayors, a powerful position that all too often has been filled by political benefactors rather than professionals. I will appoint a professional City Manager with sound qualifications to work by my side. With professional management, the City will run better and for less money. * Share human resources testing and application services with Allegheny County. We both have similar needs but again we have worked independently and not had the benefit of sharing costs and services. We must come together to save the taxpayers money. * Merge materials, equipment and supplies inventory control operations. Just in time inventory management has saved businesses billions of dollars. We too must develop a similar system and work along side the County for example as a part of sharing procurement services and the like. * Develop joint electronic-document storage. A common computer software platform would be created for managing documents in a common data warehouse system facilitating information sharing across city and country government. * Shared security and cleaning services for City/County public buildings. Again, the theme of sharing when we have similar operations and functions makes us all more efficient and lowers costs. * Merge City/County telecommunications. As most people know, telephones fax lines, cellular phones, and computer access to the Internet all add up to sizable costs. By negotiating service and hardware, we can lower costs. * Change the Emergency Medical Services billing practices to insure proper collections. When EMS provides service someone has to pay the bill, whether it’s an insurance provider or private party documentation for billings and payment for these transactions needs professional supervision and follow-up to collect outstanding dollars owed the city. * Professionalize our boards and authorities and implement term limits. From the Water Authority to the Parking Authority and so on, we have the opportunity to make the work better for less by bringing good people onto the boards. Obtaining accomplished and diverse board members will breath new life into our many authorities. * Reduce police officer downtown during court proceeding through technology. Today, our officers waste hours upon hours waiting around. Simple technology, like pagers, could put more officers on the street and lower costs. * Create Internet-based system for online permitting applications. City workers and residents and business waste millions of dollars worth of time with our current archaic system for permitting. Technology can lower these cumbersome barriers and lower our costs. * Consolidation of tax collection services for 3 taxing bodies. The City, County and School District collect real estate taxes, one bill could with itemized costs for each body could streamline the collection of these taxes. * Merged City/County asphalt purchases. The City’s asphalt plant has the capability to produce enough asphalt and a lower than market costs for both the City and County. Along with an effort to merge procurement, our public works costs can be reduced here. * Integrate revenue collection activities across City government. The Finance Department would centralize what are individual department efforts into one integrated electronic system to collect, document and manage revenue.